“Everything happens for a reason.”
That’s the premise of Hallmark’s latest romantic drama A Gift of Miracles starring Rachel Boston and Oscar-winner Rita Moreno. Premiering this Valentine’s Day weekend, Miracles follows a young woman named Darcy (played by Boston) who is studying to get her PhD. While logic rules the pragmatic Darcy’s life, she becomes fascinated by the unexplained “coincidences” that crop up when she finds a list of gifts her mother intended to give away before dying.
If the plot sounds familiar, it’s for good reason. As the film’s writer Bart Fisher told Guideposts.org, he was inspired to pen the script based on stories he read in Guideposts’ own Mysterious Ways magazine:
“When I started working on the script and I started being interested in trying to write something about real life miracles, in my research, I came across Mysterious Ways,” Fisher explained. “I was familiar with Guideposts magazine because my mom subscribed to it when I was growing up and I started reading those real-life stories and that helped inspire me. It helped me to get the flavoring and the right ideas, but it was all inspired by Mysterious Ways.”
Fisher said he was interested in presenting the idea of miracles in a different light. “When we see movies, lots of times if miraculous things are happening, it’s supernatural. What interests me here is that these are more of the kind of real life experiences we all have. Nobody’s really tackled that in a movie.”
As the star of the film, Boston also fell in love with the idea of miraculous events happening every day. “I was drawn to the story of awakening and inspired by a woman who was beginning to open up to all of the miracles around her. The first time I read the script it made me cry, so I had an emotional connection to it right away and was very excited to live inside this world for a while.”
Love is another essential part of the movie (it’s premiering on Valentine’s Day weekend after all). For Darcy, being pragmatic means cutting herself off from a chance at romance. But when she begins working with a charming English professor (played by Jesse Moss), Darcy finally opens herself up to the possibility of love.
“I love their relationship and what a delightful character he plays in this film,” Boston said of her on screen romance.“It was great to see a man embracing his romantic side long before Darcy was ready to enter into any type of a relationship. He really helped her take down the walls and barriers she had built to protect her heart and find the joy again.”
While the movie certainly has its fill of unexplained events, at its core, it’s about the importance of family and relationships. Darcy’s bond with her father is made stronger by her mother’s passing and by her serendipitous discovery of the list of gifts. Boston also shares a strong bond with her own family.
“I grew up on a mountain in Tennessee and the values were faith and family. And I have a really big family,” Boston said. “My grandma is 96 years old and I love listening to the wisdom she has to share. She’s one of the happiest people I know.”
For Boston, who got her start singing in her church choir, the idea of miracles happening daily is one she wholeheartedly believes in, and she hopes her movie encourages others to do the same.
“I guess I would define a miracle as an experience on this earth that feels guided from above–surrendering to the idea that forces we cannot always see are guiding us to places we need to go for our highest good. I hope [the movie] inspires people to hold on to hope and stay open to the miracles that happen in life.”
A Gift of Miracles premieres Sunday, Feb. 15th on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
